We woke up this morning to the pitter patter of rain drops on the roof of the RV. Although the trip so far has had its share of grey days, we've only had one other rainy day, so we prepared to make the best of it. First off, laundry, and then a bit of computer work, and then perhaps a moody walk along the mist enveloped beach ...

However, by late morning you could actually see blue patches, and by early afternoon the sun was clearly out! So we pulled the plugs and hoses, left them in a heap in the campsite, and headed in to Tofino for a quick stop at the Co-op. We tried to take a drive around, but every street we went down dead ended, so we gave up and went in search of legendary Chesterman Beach. We knew when we were getting close, because we were seeing more and more wet-suited ones walking down the road with surf boards on their shoulders. It took us a while, but we finally found a place to park and then crossed over to the beach. It's probably three times longer than MacKenzie Beach, where our RV park is, so very impressive. The surfers were everywhere, some looking pretty good, some clearly novices. Lots of people like us, just strolling along with their dogs, or sitting back with a beverage, enjoying the sights. The beach itself is lined with large, expensive-looking beach houses, cedar shingled and fronted by banks of windows. Tucked away on the other side of the road are some posh little B&Bs and some funky-looking places that likely date back to the 60s and 70s. Quite a mix.

Once back at the campground we drew our chairs up to the edge of the bank and enjoyed the sun silvering up the water as we clicked our R&Cs. And then! Omigoodness! Orcas diving and breaching at the end of the bay! I grabbed the binocs and shouted "Whales!" which is Salsa's cue to bark and carry on, remembering her close encounter from her early days as a sailor. It got a bit chaotic for a few minutes, but it really was the unexpected topper to an unexpected lovely day.